The Detroit Cobras

Sixty seconds with Rachel Nagy

Tools

Indy:Most people have never heard the obscure rock and soul songs you
play. Do you think you could have passed them off as your own?

RN: We definitely could have
gotten away with that, but kind of the point of what we do is honesty.
All the time, you hear people where you can recognize what they're
ripping off. But some of them actually think they came up with it. They
think they actually wrote those three chords.

Indy:Your singing has
been compared to Dusty Springfield, as has Duffy's over in England
...

RN: I'm not really fond of
her.

Indy:So you're not a
fan of Amy Winehouse and the UK retro-soul thing?

RN: I can't stand Amy Winehouse.
I think the only thing she's got going for her — and it's a huge
thing — is the Dap-Kings. And I think they would have been better
off staying with Sharon Jones.

Indy:You've recorded
four albums worth of covers so far. Is there any other band that has
done that?

RN: I really don't know. I think
people have this misconception that every artist writes their own
music, and most people don't. But "covers" usually means you go to the
corner bar and everybody's singing along to their favorite Pearl Jam
song. And that's definitely not what we're doing. There's one band in
London called Shout Bamalama — an Otis Redding song we do —
and they actually do our version.

Indy:I haven't heard
yours. How is it different from the original?

RN: I don't know, it just
is. I mean, I'm not Otis Redding, for one thing. I'd have no
problem if I was. It'd be awesome.

Indy:Except that you'd
be dead.

RN: That'd be all right. I don't
have that big of a problem with that, either.